A number of trade and industrial associations have demanded of the federal finance minister to bring down the sales tax rate to 12 percent so that the businessmen could be encouraged to come into the tax net.
Chairman Lahore Township Industries Association Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry, President Ferozepur Road Industrial Association Shahid Baig and Chairman Pakistan Autoparts Manufacturers and Exporters Association Tahir Javed Malik in their joint statement on Wednesday said the business community is doing its national obligation and paying tax to the government. It has always played a key role at difficult time, they maintained.
They stressed the need to bring all untaxed sectors into the tax net, but demanded of the government to bring down General Sales Tax to 12 percent. They further emphasised that discretionary powers of officials should be curtailed to make the business environment better, which would help end the menace of corruption.
They urged the Federal Board of Revenue to immediately withdraw SRO 283(I) 2010, as the business community would not allow officials of Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation to have free access to search businesses and visit premises of manufacturing units of registered persons and would resist any such move tooth and nail.
It seems that the bureaucracy was busy in creating hurdles for the businesses instead of suggesting some relief package. The empowering officials of Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation to have free access to search businesses and premises of manufacturing units of registered persons for obtaining stocks records, bank statements and other business-related data is tantamount to create an atmosphere of harassment and no business could prosper in such circumstances.
The Federal Board of Revenue should have consulted the chambers and trade bodies in the country before introducing SRO 283(I) 2010 that was bound to put corrupt practices into currency, they said. They further said that the business community was unable to understand the wisdom behind the introduction of SRO 283(I) 2010 when the Federal Board of Revenue was meeting pre-set targets of revenue collection. How the government can increase the tax base when the sword of fear would be hanging on the heads of the business-doing people. "How the government would restore the confidence of businessmen when the intelligence officials would be raiding their business places", they added.
They said that it seemed that the SRO had been issued in connivance with corrupt elements in the bureaucracy and to tarnish the image of the government. "It's a conspiracy against present regime and the conspirators must be unveiled." The Federal Board of Revenue considerably enhanced the powers of Directorate General Intelligence and Investigation through amendment in SRO 56(I) 2010 through SRO 283 (I) 2010. Now the officials of the Directorate enjoy the authority to inspect the goods, stocks, records, data, documents, correspondence, accounts, utility bills and information regarding funds or assets.
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